Foods high in glutamates unlock 'umami'

Wednesday

Aug 7, 2013 at 2:00 AM

Umami is the so-called "fifth taste," and given scientists only proved its existence this century, umami also can be considered the most elusive. To unlock that savory umami taste, you have to combine flavors — but which ones?

By Bill Daley

Umami is the so-called "fifth taste," and given scientists only proved its existence this century, umami also can be considered the most elusive. To unlock that savory umami taste, you have to combine flavors — but which ones?

Start with foods rich in glutamates.

Glutamates sometimes get a bad rap because of the notoriety of the food additive, monosodium glutamate — MSG. But there are foods naturally rich in this protein-building amino acid, and they live up to the meaning of umami, a Japanese word roughly translated as "delicious."

"As a cook, you want to balance foods. We're always looking for a little umami," said Christopher Prosperi, chef-owner of Metro Bis restaurant in Simsbury, Conn. Umami, he adds, is why certain dishes — such as the "Silver Palate Cookbook's" iconic chicken Marbella with its lively mix of capers, olives and prunes — make "our mouths water."

"We can't get enough of it," Prosperi said.

Indeed. That umami hunger is why one of the hot "new" ingredients surfacing in restaurant kitchens is koji, which is used traditionally in Japan to make soy sauce, sake, miso and other fermented food products. Prepared koji, available at a growing number of Asian markets, is ready to be spooned into all sorts of recipes. However, generally, getting that umami fix isn't easy — nor is it as easy, say, as sparking foods with a spritz of lemon.

"To work its magic, umami needs to be in the company of other ingredients," writes Michael Pollan, the influential food writer, in his new book, "Cooked." "A bit like salt, glutamate seems to italicize the taste of foods, but unlike salt, it doesn't have an instantly recognizable taste of its own."

Prosperi agrees that a combination of flavors is needed to unlock umami. But he doesn't go reaching for a shaker of MSG. He instead goes to his larder for glutamate-laden vegetables such as tomatoes and mushrooms, plus cheeses, fish, meat — even seaweed.

"We use dashi all the time for soups and pan sauces," he said, referring to the Japanese stock made from kombu, a type of seaweed.

Dashi's versatility also is endorsed by Elizabeth Andoh, a cookbook author and American-born authority on Japanese cuisine.

"It can be used in anything, any style of cooking," she writes in an email from her home in Japan. "Dashi enhances any 'ethnic' flavors, including standard American seasonings."

Andoh, a self-described "kombu freak," said she has nothing good to say about any artificially created flavor-enhancements — including MSG. "On the other hand, I extol the virtues of naturally occurring glutamate, especially in kombu."